Method of igniting blast furnaces



New. 1l i924. 1,514,849

y F. H. N. GERWIG METHOD OF 4IGNTTING BLAST FURNACES Filed April l2, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 NGV. il 192.4.

F. H. N. GERWIG METHOD OF IGNTXN BLAST`FURNACES 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed April l2 1925 Nov. 11 1924. Y 1,514,849

F. H. N` GERWG METHOD OF IGNITING BLAST FURNACES Filed April 12, 19??l 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 F. H. N. GERWEG METHOD OF' IGNITING BLAST FURNACES Filed Avril l2. 19?7l 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ll, f?

Vs'es: me Zar.-

Patented Nov. il, '1924,

FREDERICK HQN. GERWG, OF BRDDOCK, PENNSYLVANIA.

lVI'ET-IODUF' IGNTI'NG BLAST FURNAOES.

.Implicationiile'd` [i'prl l2, 1923'.v SerialiNo. 6313559.

Be it known that l, FREDERICK H. N. GERWIG, af Citizen of the United States, and residentfoi Braddock, in .thecounty of Alf legheny and Stateo Pennsylvania, have invented oertaintnew and useful4 Improvementsfinv Methodsy of@ lgnitin'gfy Blast Furnaces, ot which theifolloivingy is a specifica-4 tion.

Thisv invention yrelates to fmethodsof' lighting and blowing in blast. furnaces, and has for onei off. its principal objectsV the provision o a methodl of thisy class thati is far superrier' to the methods heretoiiorefpracticed in; that it, requiresiless labo-r and less. material, isiquioler,` cheaper, andtprovides for a` more; lperl'eotf ignition and even combustion* oi" thecharge;

Heretofore, it has been 'the praotieel to either? build @a platform 1in the turn aoe hearth at approximately the,` level of the cinder notch,or tosill the hearthvvith oolieup to'- about; this level, and then' toi iill the` remainder ofthe hearth' and major portion; ofnthe boshnwitfh eordw'ood, Whiehz Woodi must be loaded into the l fulrnaee by manual labo-r; andi theirA toV iill: colte.' andvlimesi'aone` on top of this Wood until the major ypor'- tiofiiaofxthe shaft isfilled' andi then t'o1add severall rounds off burden; `andvtoy iinally light` thel Woedi by tlirustingi heated ironk bars 1: or the like,A through the tuyre' open.- luofggr. ,l tlarious slight modifications ofi the above method have been practiced but inl eaohninstances thefoorefoivooi-dy `Woodohas-fbeeii used, anda all of fthe@ knownl prior.` methode of lightingfandblowing in blastliurnaees have been more costly andi slower than. the method of. this: invention..

'Vheniusinsg the eord'avoodiooi'e the'fgases f formed; by the coinl'mstionir ofthe IWood inf vari'ahlwy permeated through the` A boshfi and" oundz thei'rifwazvi intoe the cast. hcmlse`rl and4 l thuseoftenf causing` considerable damage ite .l

thefurnace top.

In. thevpresent l method' noi Wooden: :coreV is1 employed land, tliel'efore,y thef-vdisadvantages' and objections thereto are entirely overcome.

Broadly, the present method consists in iilling` the furnace' With a solidloody of cokerom the bottom ot the hearth up' to approximately the top of the bosh with. the exception oi" ay relatively small cpiantitf;7 of' readily combustibley material adj aoenty 'each tuyie, then filling. the shaft of the furnace with a combination 'oft coke and limestone for a considerable height', then adding a plurality of rounds'o' burden and finally ignitingy said` readily combustible material.

In the draWingSi,-Figurel is a diagram-y matiev sectional elevationthrough-- a furnace loaded in accorda-noe with my improved' methodcand ready fori lighting;

Figuregi's any enlarged sectionaleleva tionof the lower part of adurnace' loadedinr accordance Withmy invention,A

Figure 3k is a transverse section on the line HTL- lli of: Figure 2.l

Figures 4 and 5 aresideelevationstalren aty right angles to eaoh other,- and Figure' -6 is altopplan'foi.2 onevoff the flue-like 'members adapted. toi contain the: readily combustible material. f f p Figure 7 is. arisidel elevation anduFigure 8 isanend elevation-"of` one ofthe' burner* frames- `adapted.; to beyi mounted in the tuyere openings.

FigureQ-'isa side' elfevatioirfof fone'of the electrie'l-igniterewused to ignite-thefread-H5I combustible materia-lf# Referringfin'oifeV particularly to the drawL ings,l the furnace illustrated is of -the-"usual construction anidconsists' of aliv'ell or hearth 2, hoeh 3, mantle support /landfshaft V5.l

The hearth is provided with the usual tuyeifes 6, oindeinet'eh 7 andfiron notohl; The tuyeres 6 are provided With thelusual blov pipesv 9' connected by' the* penstook pipes l()V with the' bustle fpipfefll to "supply" abile-st vofairto the furnace? In carrying outtm'jv invention approxi# mately 25 skips of;oolefareiiledinto the furnace hearth f2; and leveled vto apprtnimately the ycontour of thedotted-"lmeAe-A ofFigairesl l andlQ.4v That'fis,-this hed oie` coke is leveled up o-verthehearth slightlyy below the tuyeres 6, with the y'vezeeption'of the point-adj aoentrfthe eiiiCle1notoh 7, Where it is' tapered` slightly to 'permittl'ie entrance of Workmen and jmaterial thvfioiighl the' notch for carrying on: the next operation.

After 'the'y ihs'tbed 'of colte has been'leveled up in the hearth a plurality of wooden flue-like boxes 12 are passed through the cinder notch 7 and manually placed in position in front of eachtuyre.,V The boxes 12 are secured together by wooden strips 14 or other tying means.

The boxes 12 have a closed bottom 15 and may be made in two sections, as clearly shown in Figure 5 and secured together by strips 16. This will facilitate their passage through the cinder notch. Each of the boxes 12 is provided adjacent its lower end with an opening 17 adapted to be placed opposite the tuyre mouth.

kAfter the boxes 12 are secured in position the penstock cap 18 is removed and a wooden burner frame 19 is passed through each blow pipe and tuyre and entered into the opening 17 of the boxes.

The boxes 12 are then filled with readily combustible material 20, such as kindling wood and coal, and form what may be termed individual furnaces.

After the boxes 12 are all filled with readily combustible material the workmen leave the furnace through'the cinder notch and an additional charge of coke approximating skips is filled into the furnace, which will fill the furnace to approximately the top of the bo'sh with a solid core of coke7 with the exception of the boxes 12 and their readily combustible material 20.

After this additional charge of coke, alternate layers of limestone and coke are filled into the furnace until the shaft is approximately two-thirds filled. The quantity of limestone used is very small compared with the quantity of coke, only sufficient limestone being used to flux the ash of the coke.

After the furnace shaft is thus partially filled with the combined limestone and coke f charge approximately 2O rounds of burden are charged to complete the filling of the furnace. Each round of burden generally consists of 1 skip of ore, 1 skip of combined ore and limestone, 2 skips of coke, 1 skip of ore, 1 skip ofcombined limestone and ore and 2 skips of coke, charged in the order set forth.

It will be understood that quantities given in this specification are only approximate and may be varied according to the requirements of any given furnace.

After the furnace is filled as above described it is ready for lighting. Thelighting is done by the electric lighters 24 which are inserted through the peep holes in the penstock caps 18 and are supported on the wooden burner frames 19. A smallquantity of excelsior waste 25 or the like is placed in the penstock pipes 10 adjacent the rear end of each burner frame, so that a flame may be readily formed by the lighters.

f The lighters 24 are composed of a length of metallic conduit 26 having a resistance coil 27 on its forward end having conductors 28 and 29 leading therefrom through the conduit 26 to a switchBOon the rear end, which controls the circuit to the coil 27. The switch 30 has lead wires 31 leading therefrom to a suitable plug 32 adapted to be attached to a suitable service receptacle 33 in the electric supply line 34, which is controlled by a main switch 35.

After all the lighters are positioned, care is taken to see that all the switches 30 are closed and everything is in readiness for the actual lighting of the furnace. The main switch 35 is then closed and the circuit is completed simultaneously through all the lighters 24, causing them to glow and thereby igniting the material 25 causing a burst of flame, which is carried through the blow pipes 9 into the boxes 12.l The burner,

frames 19 serve as additioaal fuel and aid in igniting the material'in the boxes 12. If desired, when the current is turned through the lighters 24 a slight blast may be turned into the furnace. However', this is not always necessary, since the natural draft of the furnace is sufficient to cause combustion.

By igniting all the boxes 12 simultaneously a uniformly lighted furnace results which is a very desirable feature, since it will cause a uniform descent of the stock.

The small amount of readily combustible material used is quickly consumed and is only sufficient to properly ignite the coke, and this method differentiates from all prior methods by its lack of the wood core heretofore used.

While I have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that various modifications may be practiced without departing from the scope of'my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. The method of lighting and blowing in a blast furnace, which consists in filling the furnace with coke to a point slightly below the tuyres, then providing a quantity of more readily combustible material accessible from each of the tuyres of the furnace, then continuing the filling of the furnace with a solid body of coke to approximately the top of the bosh, then filling the shaft of the furnace for a considerable height with alternate layers o-f limestone and coke, the coke predominating materially over the limestone in quantity, and finally adding a plurality of rounds of burden and then igniting said readily combustible material.

2. The method of lighting and blowing in a blast furnace, which consists in filling the furnace with coke to a point slightly below the tuyres, then providing a quantity of more readily combustible material adjacent each of the tuyeres of the furnace, then continuing the filling of the furnace with a solid body of coke to approximately the top of the bosh, then filling the shaft of the furnace for a considerable height with alternate layers of limestone and coke, the coke predominating materially over the limestone in quantity, then adding a plurality of rounds of burden, and then igniting said readily combustible material.

3. The method of lighting and blowing in a blast furnace, which consists in filling the furnace with coke to a point slightly below the tuyres, securing a combustible hollow flue-like member in front of each tuyre, filling each of said flue-like members with readily combustible material, continuing the filling of the furnace with a` solid body of colte to approximately the top of the bosh, then filling the shaft of the furnace for a considerable height with alternate layers of limestone and coke, the coke predominating materially over the limestone in quantity, then adding a plurality of rounds of burden and then igniting said readily combustible material.

4. The method of lighting and blowing in a blast furnace, which consists in filling the furnace with coke to a point slightly below the tuy`eres, securing a combustible hollow flue-like member in front of each tuyre, said flue-like members being provided with openings accessible from the outside of the furnace through said tuyres, filling each of said flue-like members with readily combustible material, continuing the lling of the furnace with a solid body of coke to approximately the top of the bosh, then filling the shaft of the furnace for a considerable height with alternate layers of limestone and coke, then adding a quantity of burden on top of the coke, inserting lighters through each of the tuyres and simultaneously lighting the material in each of said flue members.

5. The improvement in methods of lighting and blowing in blast furnaces, which consists in filling the furnace with a solid body of coke from its base up to approximately the top of the bosh with the exception of a relatively small quantity of readily combustible material adjacent each tuyre, then filling the shaft of the furnace with a combination of coke and limestone for a considerable height, then adding burden and then igniting said readily combustible material.

6. The improvement in methods of lighting and blowing in blast furnaces which consists in providing a fine-like member filled With readily combustible material in front of each tuyre, then filling said furnace from FREDERICK H. N. GERVIG. 

